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The Boris Karloff Collection (Tower of London / The Black Castle / The Climax / The Strange Door / Night Key) |  | Directors: George Waggner, Joseph Pevney, Lloyd Corrigan, Nathan Juran, Rowland V. Lee
Actors: Boris Karloff, Warren Hull, Jean Rogers, Alan Baxter, Hobart Cavanaugh
Studio: Universal Studios
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.98
Buy New: $8.61
as of 11/21/2009 16:38 CST details
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New (32) Used (14) Collectible (1) from $8.18
Rating:  26 reviews
Format: Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: Unrated
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 3
Running Time: 421 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.5 x 0.7
MPN: D31086D
UPC: 025193108623
EAN: 0025193108623
Theatrical Release Date: November 17, 1939
Release Date: September 19, 2006
Shipping: Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Includes:Night KeyTower Of LondonThe ClimaxThe Strange DoorThe Black CastleFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: NR UPC: 025193108623 Manufacturer No: 61031086
Amazon.com
The gaunt face, the large eyes and elegant hands, the rich voice with a touch of menace (and more than a touch of lisp): Boris Karloff had the tools of a genuine movie star. He also had a deeply sensitive understanding of flawed creatures, which made his best roles--including the Frankenstein monster and the Mummy--weirdly sympathetic. His profitable employment in those Universal monster movies is filled out with the release of The Boris Karloff Collection, a grouping of non-classics from his Universal jobs. These are the kind of movies that would show up with great promise on your local "Nightmare Theater" or "Creature Feature" late-show slot: Hey, Boris Karloff in something called Tower of London? Sounds scary! And you'd watch in bewilderment as the film would turn out to be a historical drama with a few grisly touches. Universal perpetuates this misunderstanding with this DVD release, which declares "The Master of Horror in His Most Frightening Roles!" Which is quite a stretch. (Some of Karloff's best horror stuff is on the Bela Lugosi Collection, a superior DVD package.) Still, for fans, there's much to enjoy here. Tower of London is a thoroughly entertaining tale of Richard III's bloody rise to power, with Basil Rathbone as Richard and Karloff as his bald, beetle-browed executioner (definitely one of Boris's best looks). Two early-1950s films are great fun: The Strange Door has Charles Laughton doing one of his modern-Nero roles as a perverse nobleman with a really cool torture dungeon (Karloff is his servant), and The Black Castle lays on the wolf howls and creaking doors in a tale of revenge. Juicy performances by Richard Greene and Stephen McNally gives this oomph, even if Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr., are peripheral. McNally's castle is equipped with an excellent secret room with swarming alligators. Night Key (1937) isn't horror, but a perfectly OK B-movie about inventor Karloff and his revenge on the businessman who stole his electrically charged idea. 1944's The Climax was made to capitalize on the lavish sets Universal made for The Phantom of the Opera, and director George Waggner (The Wolf Man) seems far too enamored of costumes and arias. Even when it's dull, which is frequently, the film has gorgeous Technicolor to look at, and Karloff is suitably obsessed as a doctor messing with a promising soprano. In short, the DVD set may disappoint the unwary, but Karloff devotees will enjoy the icon, and the occasional alligator pit. --Robert Horton
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 26
You can not go Wong with Boris Karloff August 17, 2009
bernie (Arlington, Texas)
If Peter Lorre (Rosenberg, Austria-Hungary [now Ruzomberok, Slovakia]) can be Mr. Moto "Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939)," then Boris Karloff (Camberwell, London, England, UK) can be Mr. Wong. Boris appears in more than 160 films and videos.
Actually these films are quite entertaining. They are also some of his more obscure films but it is worth purchasing as a set.
Night Key (1937) David Mallory
Tower of London (1939) Mord
The Climax (1944) Dr. Friedrich Hohner
The Strange Door (1951) Voltan
The Black Castle (1952) Dr. Meissen
See my individual reviews.
There are larger Karloff collections
The Val Lewton Horror Collection (Cat People / The Curse of the Cat People / I Walked with a Zombie / The Body Snatcher / Isle of the Dead / Bedlam / The Leopard Man / The Ghost Ship / The Seventh Victim / Shadows in the Dark)
Karloff Collection July 19, 2009
TXBulldog (Dallas,TX)
This collection is a real treat for Karloff fans. Mr. Karloff is at his best in all 5 films. My favorite is The Strange Door with Charles Laughton. Mr. Laughton dominates his scenes. Sally Forrest is fetching as the leading lady. There's even Boris in Technicolor in The Climax. The film isn't a horror film really but still pleasing to the eye with the luscious colors and beautiful Susannah Foster as the soprano. YES shades of Phanton of the Opera. They even used the Phantom sets.Night Key is an interesting story with Boris as the usual scientist/inventor with an invention that was ahead of its time and almost borders into science-fiction. Jean Rogers plays his daughter. She had just scored success playing Dale Arden to Buster Crabbes Flash Gordon. The Black Castle has Boris in a small part but still an entertaing thriller. Richard Greene (who played Robin Hood in the 1950's British series) is dashing and handsome as the leading man who goes to the castle looking for two former friends who have disappeared. The only glitch in the film is the leading lady who is a poor actress not helped at all by her foreign accent. I recommend this set to anyone who is a Karloff fan like myself. With the exception of Tower of London I had not seen any of the films.
 Boris Karloff overlooked classics! July 17, 2009
Thin Timmy (New Orleans, La.)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Boris Karloff "king of the monsters" made
many movies where he wasn't a monster but
some of the movies were considered horror.
This set included many of his best work
& are overlooked classic movies! Tower
of London is a Universal classic gothic
tale with Karloff playing the executioner
as a vicious evil man who follows the King
to his death! Vincent Price is also here
as the brother of the King & is great.
The STrange Door w/Charles Laughton is
brilliant. Great story & acting by both.
The ending is great! Night Key & Climax
are okay Karloff movies very enjoyable
but not his best work. The Black Castle
is another Universal Gothic tale & is
my favorite. Great story & action with
mystery. Karloff is kind of a good/bad
guy & is actually the hero with an
excellent ending. One of his best.
I highly recommend this set even if
you aren't a Karloff fan. Great movies!
KARLOFF SHINES!!!!! May 4, 2009
larryj1 (az)
Fantastic set of Karloff films. Very enjoyable with great prints. It was good to finally be able to see Night Key again.
Karloff Still Surprises April 18, 2009
Mark Rufo (Nashua, New Hampshire)
I only got this movie pack to see "Tower of London." I had seen it when I was a kid on TV and then again about 15 years ago. It's every bit as good as I remember it both times and is by itself well worth the price of the DVD package.
But I want to say something about one of the B-movies included: the 1937 "Night Key." I had never even heard of it. It's a mildly entertaining melodrama, with generally good acting but gets silly towards the end. Only the day after seeing it did I realize that there is something odd here. And then it hit me: "Night Key" is the narrative grand-daddy to the TV series "Breaking Bad."
In "Night Key," Karloff plays a scientist with a pressing and degenerative health problem (he is going blind). Despite a brilliant mind he has almost no money, which he desperately needs for medical care and also to take care of his family (here limited to an adult, unmarried daughter). We learn of a back story in which Karloff's character was cheated years earlier by a business partner who got rich at his expense. We also learn that these two men were romantically involved with the same woman. Now Karloff has to turn to crime, even though he has always been completely law-abiding. (For all the good it did him!)By accident he encounters a career criminal about to fall into police custody and whom he helps to escape. The career criminal is a sympathetic character, and also adds some comic relief. He and Karloff become friends even though they come from different worlds. However, Karloff's involvement with this fellow gets him involved with a criminal gang run by a psychopathic killer. Things quickly go from bad to worse as the psychopathic gang leader kidnaps Karloff and his friend. Karloff must then use his scientific knowledge to save himself, his friend and his family.
If you have seen "Breaking Bad" this will all sound VERY familiar! Which leaves only one question: were the writers of the TV show influenced by "Night Key" or is this just an incredible coincidence?
Showing reviews 1-5 of 26
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